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If you’ve ever stepped out of a shower at a luxury hotel, you know the feeling of being wrapped in a flawless soft and plush bath towel.
It’s something like transferring into the warm, cozy embrace of a luscious cotton hug. But for whatever reason, you can’t quite seem to replicate it at home. Part of the reason you might be missing out is that higher-end hotels simply use higher-end towels, many of which are often made with superior cotton threads.
Many of these towels also happen to be made using more eco-friendly and responsible production methods. The good news is that more brands than ever are producing bath towels in a responsible way. But it’s worth understanding which towels are worth your money and which ones should stay on the shelf.
Things to consider
The best way to find towels that adhere to the most relevant sustainability standards is to look for a few different certifications:
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS): A widely-accepted standard to back up organic textile and material claims. Reputable brands advertising “100% organic cotton” will often use GOTS to certify that claim.
MADE SAFE: A certification focused on human health and ingredient safety.
Fair Trade-certified: Focusing on fair and ethical standards along with credible development for workers around the world in a number of industries.
Climate Pledge Friendly (CPF): Amazon combined a number of accepted standards (including some on this list) along with benchmarks it created on its own as a baseline for shoppers looking for more ethically-made products.
1% for the Planet: 1% brand partners commit 1% of their profits to the organization, who then allocates that towards a range of environmental and social improvement efforts. 1% companies often hold themselves to higher standards as a whole and participate in other accepted certifications.
You will likely see a range of brands adding the “Oeko-Tex Standard 100-certified” claim to their products, which for a time was an acceptable standard for chemical-free and responsible production. However, standards have moved well beyond that and Oeko-Tex should be an absolute minimum when shopping for responsibly-made bath towels.
Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the modern standards, check out seven of our favorites bath towels below.
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